Gov't plans 80,000 new homes for chip industry workforce

The Korean government plans to supply 80,000 new homes to five locations in order to accommodate the workforces of new chip complexes. The plan aims to strengthen the country's chip industry and supply chain.

A bird's eye view of Osan, Gyeonggi where 31,000 new homes will accommodate the workforce at chip factories in nearby areas. [YONHAP]

The Korean government will supply 80,000 new homes in five sites primarily to build new residential towns surrounding mega-sized chip complexes under construction in Gyeonggi.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said it has chosen Yongin, Guri, and Osan of Gyeonggi, as well as Cheongju of North Chungcheong and Jeju Island to build the new homes. “The government will continue to monitor the home supply markets. If necessary, the government may announce additional new sites for public homes next year,” the ministry said in a statement.

Yongin is where both Samsung Electronics and SK hynix plan on building multiple semiconductor manufacturing plants. Osan is near the Yongin clusters and Samsung’s existing chip factories in Pyeongtaek and Hwaseong.

Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest memory chipmaker, will invest 300 trillion won ($231 billion) into a massive chip cluster in Yongin, Gyeonggi, by 2042 as Korea seeks to strengthen its supply chain amid global competition to attract chipmakers.

SK hynix is also looking to the region as its next-generation manufacturing hub and has committed 120 trillion won to developing a new cluster there.

The designated Yongin area will have 16,000 homes while the Osan site will have 31,000 units. A site in Guri, Gyeonggi, will add 18,500 homes with Cheongju, North Chungcheong being supplied 9,000 units. Jeju will gain 5,500 new homes.

This is the third time the incumbent government has selected new areas for public homes. It released a plan to supply 46,000 public homes to Gimpo, near Seoul, in November, and vowed to build 39,000 homes in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, and Jinju, South Gyeongsang this past June.

The government will focus on improving transportation infrastructure in the selected areas to better connect them to central parts of existing cities, industrial complexes and neighboring residential towns, the statement said.

In September, the government announced a plan to supply 120,000 public homes on top of to its existing plan to deliver 2.7 million new homes by 2027.

Of the 120,000 promised homes, 30,000 will be placed in large residential towns near Seoul, while 85,000 will go to newly developed areas.

Last August, the government vowed to supply 2.7 million public homes between 2023 and 2027 by easing regulations for redevelopment and reconstruction and allowing the private sector to join downtown development projects.

BY PARK EUN-JEE, YONHAP [park.eunjee@joongang.co.k]